What to give a sewist for Christmas….

15th December 2016

I’m relatively easy to please when it comes to Christmas presents. I’m always happy with vouchers, perfume or booze to be fair. However, when it comes to sewing related gifts, not so much. I’m pretty particular. And I don’t think I’m alone. I don’t need another sewing kit let’s face it. And it occured to me that for non sewists, who might be thinking of buying a sewing related gift for their loved one, it must be pretty tricky to know what to buy. Unless they are steered in the right direction of course 😉 So I’ve curated a few items together that I think are guaranteed to bring a smile to any sewists face on Christmas morning.

So if you are a non sewist…gift buying for a sewist…take note 😉 (Sewists, feel free to subtly leave this post open on your device) 😉

These scissors from Merchant & Mills (1,2 and 3) are not at the top of this post by accident, oh no no! I have fallen hard for the sleek styling on these., and I think my fellow sewists would agree with me! They’re not cheap to be fair. But what all sewists know, is that scissors, decent scissors, are King in the sewing room. A lifetime investment. They are the tools of our trade, and next to a sewing machine and an iron, the single most important part of our toolkit. If you want to understand how a sewist feels about scissors…just try and use them for anything other than fabric and see what happens…go on…I dare ya!

For a bit more bling and pretty…rose gold scissors?!! I mean…seriously…what’s not to love? If your sewist is into vintage, feminine or bling….buy these and you’ll be in their good books on Christmas morning for sure.

For heritage, history, quality and British made you simply cannot beat Ernest Wright & Sons. They’ve been making scissors in Sheffield since 1902 and are widely regarded as THE scissors to have. Their tailors shears come in a range of colors, sizes and also left handed options. Pinking shears and duck bill scissors are useful additions to any sewists tool kit. Their stork embroidery scissors have achieved near iconic status; and it’s pretty safe to say that those thread snips are probably the best you can buy!

Sewists tend to be very proud of our art. We’ll talk to anyone that will listen about sewing. Even if it bores them shitless. So little accessories like these from Wendy Ward, that mark us out as sewists, and identify us as sewists to our sewing kin, we will wear like a badge of honour! And a means of identifying a fellow sewist in a crowd of strangers. With whom we will immediately strike up a long protracted conversation (“Oh do you sew??”) as if we are old friends (which we are because we quickly establish we have alread met on IG) while you (as a non sewist) are left ignored, tapping your foot and looking at your watch (How long IS left on that car parking ticket). But hey….at least we’re not boring you shitless with our sewing talk anymore…so be grateful.

If you absolutely have to buy a sewing kit then make it a good one! A framed sewing print will likely be well received too…us sewists love to fill our sewing dens with that kind of stuff. This one is particularly good because it validates our view that sewing is more important than housework. (Even if we often can’t sew unless we know the housework is taken care of because, well, sewists are just nice people. But you already knew that).

When a sewist isn’t sewing…then they are likely plotting in their head what they want to sew next, (if only they weren’t constantly interrupted by pesky interruptions like work, housework and life outside of sewing). Don’t try talking to a sewist when they are thinking about sewing (which is like, always). While their head space is taken up planning, they have no room for trivial things like conversation…or dinner. (There’s usually room for wine however). The longer they go without sewing btw, the more ideas will build up in their head; and they may well get irritable as a result. This is normal so don’t panic. It is a result of both a lack of time to sew, and how crowded their head space is with plans on what to sew…(if only they had the time). Gifting your sewist a sewing planner shows you recognise this impasse and gives them the tools to clear some of that head space so you can at least have a conversation. Accompany this gift with a bottle of wine and an IOU for a clear weekend and you’ll get maximum brownie points. (BTW, that could possibly be the best gift ever for a sewist. Sewing time. Priceless. Take the kids out, cook the dinner and do the housework all weekend, and let your sewist just sew. Best present ever.)

If your sewist is a dressmaker, then a mannequin that can be adjusted to their size will be a godsend for them and you! Them because pin fitting clothes on yourself is near impossible unless you are a double jointed olympic grade contortionist. And you because you will no longer be needed to do said pinning for them because, let’s face it, you probably won’t do it “right” anyway. You know that sense of pressure followed by impending doom when your sewist says “just pin out the excess on that dart for me please”? Gone. With one of these. You’re welcome

Storage. Sewists can never have too much storage as their stash and supplies will grow exponentially to fill the space they have. Scientific fact. Minimalist does not apply to a sewing space. Sometimes that sewing space may spill over into other parts of the home, (as your sewist tries to multi task and fit their sewing in around other activities). You might as well develop an acceptance of that and work with them to help them manage the overspill with a gorgeous sewing box. (1 & 2)This will benefit you as much as your sewist. No more using the arm of the sofa as a makeshift pincushion or sharp implements strewn across the coffee table. Pins lost in the deep pile of the living room rug? Your sewist may even grace you with their presence on the sofa of an evening, if they can sew in comfort with all their supplies coralled neatly by their side….

And if you want to supercharge the sewing box brownie points, look for vintage/mid century examples on ebay or Gumtree etc. (Search term “vintage sewing box” should get you started) I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who would squeal with delight at one of these beauties on Christmas morning. (Yes, gifting something that is second hand is ok as long as it is super cool/vintage/antique. )

So there you have it. A few little ideas should you be struggling to get into the mind (and the good books) of a sewist. But get your skates on. You haven’t got long!